The heart is one of the most important organs of the body. Electrical impulses normally generated at the sinoatrial node within the wall of the right atrium of the heart are typically carried by the heart's conducting tissue to different areas of the heart muscle, causing the left and right atria of the heart to contract first, followed by contraction of the left and right ventricles (a heartbeat). This controlled stimulation of the heart muscles provides for efficient contraction of all four chambers of the heart and allows blood to be pumped through the lungs and circulatory system.
Cardiac arrhythmias occur when the electrical impulses in your heart misfire, causing your heart to beat too quickly, too slowly, or irregularly. Cardiac arrhythmias may be caused by stress, medications, or a fever or other illness, and the occasional heart flutter or racing heart is often harmless. Other times, however, arrhythmias are caused by more serious conditions, such as damaged heart tissue (e.g., resulting from a heart attack), coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and hyperthyroidism, among other conditions, and in these cases the arrhythmias can be dangerous and potentially life-threatening.
Cardiac arrhythmias are generally classified as atrial or ventricular, based on where they originate, and as a tachycardia (a fast heartbeat) or a bradycarcia (a slow heartbeat), based on the number of beats per minute at rest. Although more rare than atrial arrhythmias, ventricular arrhythmias are typically considered more serious and can lead to a heart attack or sudden death.
In cases where the arrhythmia is caused by an abnormality in the cardiac tissue, the abnormality may be in any layer or in multiple layers of the heart. Accordingly, there is a need for devices, systems, and methods for treating arrhythmias in all layers of the heart in a manner that is safe, reproducible, simple to administer, effective, minimally invasive, and allows for faster recovery of the patient.